T.O. Shuffles Off To Buffalo? No Way!

Ask any Buffalo Bills fan if Terrell Owens is likely to end up in Buffalo and they’ll probably ask what planet you’ve been on for the past decade. First, ESPN’s Senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen has already listed the Bills as one of the 28 NFL teams NOT interested in Owens.

It’s really a no brainer, isn’t it?

As the gripe in Buffalo usually goes: Owner Ralph Wilson is unwilling to spend money for players who can help his team win.

But how much money do you think it would take? Consider that if Owens wants to finish his career on his terms—a virtual certainty with his ego—and not end it unceremoniously, T.O. and agent Drew Rosenhaus have just about zero leverage at this point.

Supply vs. demand is certainly at work unless Owens has his eyes on the CFL.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s deal with Seattle was five years and $40 million dollars, with $15 million guaranteed—that’s less money than Lee Evans’ deal, by the way—but, there were a host of players in the Houshmandzadeh sweepstakes and he had a deal from Cincinnati on the table to run back to.

If you want to take Mortensen’s insight to the bank, T.O. isn’t heading to his bank any time soon.

So much for the Ralph Wilson won’t spend camp. It would probably be the most economical talent to money ratio Wilson and co. would ever find.

So money clearly isn’t the only reason.

But you can count him out of Buffalo anyway.

First—as Dallas has miraculously realized—even though the player would produce on the field, with Owens, you run the risk of losing control of your locker room. That’s not just a bad thing in the world of an NFL front office, it’s the equivalent of plague.

Or at least that is the perception.

From Owens’ perspective—and apparently he’s pretty persuasive in that perspective—doing things his way is the route to winning. I really don’t think he intends to be a distraction quite as much as the media portrays he does.

But hard facts are hard to overcome. Owens has been productive everywhere he’s been, but zero championships have resulted. And there are now at least three NFL franchises with direct knowledge of T.O. —behind the scenes—who have handed him a pink slip.

There’s also a little, shall we say philosophical difference, between he and AFL holdover Ralph Wilson Jr.

Wilson Jr. has spent a very misunderstood career eschewing the very nature of Owens’ problem—Owens thinks the NFL is privileged to have him.